Import Alert 16-04

(Note: This import alert represents the Agency's current guidance to FDA field personnel regarding the manufacturer(s) and/or products(s) at issue. It does not create or confer any rights for or on any person, and does not operate to bind FDA or the public).

Import Alert # 16-04

Published Date: 07/21/2015

Type: DWPE with Surveillance

Import Alert Name:

"Misbranded Seafood"

Reason for Alert:

Occasionally, shipments of various species of fish, or other seafood, are offered for entry under the name of a fictitious, incorrect, or substituted species. Orange roughy, red snapper, and king crabmeat are examples of products for which another species has been substituted.

The guidance section provides an alphabetical listing of seafood names associated with previous entries. The list includes both the correct market and appropriate scientific name, as well as the fictitious or substituted name. The Red List identifies firms that have been documented to misdeclare seafood products.

Incorrect common or usual name: Detain as misbranded any seafood labeled with a name which is inappropriate for the species identified on the label. (Example: Red Snapper associated with species from other than Lutianus campechanus).

Species Substitution: If species substitution is suspected, a physical sample must be collected. Contact the Division of Field Science for sampling and servicing laboratory information.

Districts should sample entries of seafood labeled as a species not common to the geographic region or exporting country. Refer to this section for guidance on the region or country from which specific species are normally available or to the Red List for firms that have been known to misidentify their products.

If a suspected fictitious name or species substitution is encountered that is not covered by this alert, refer to the Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia (RFE) and the Guidance for Industry: "The Seafood List -FDA's Guide to Acceptable Market Name for Seafood Sold in Interstate Commerce" at the following internet address: http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/Product-SpecificInformation/Seafood/RegulatoryFishEncyclopediaRFE/default.htm.

MARKET NAME ...... SCIENTIFIC NAME or FICTITIOUS NAME ...... SOURCE OF PRODUCT (COUNTRY or GEOGRAPHIC REGION)